Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino yesterday claimed federal agents had “a record year for illegal firearms seizures” in 2021. Records show 316 smuggled handguns were confiscated by the Canada Border Services Agency..“2021 was a record year for illegal firearms seizures but there is still a lot more work to do,” Mendicino told reporters. “I think it’s really important that Canadians know the federal government does see as a priority the need to stop illegal trafficking of guns at our borders,” he added..The Border Services Agency in a Year In Review report last December 10 said officers seized 908 firearms including 316 handguns, according to Blacklock's Reporter. Mendicino’s department in a November 10 briefing note said it had no idea how many firearms were smuggled into Canada..“The total number of firearms successfully smuggled into Canada is unknown,” said the briefing note. Border seizures were “mostly from non-compliant travelers attempting to retain their personal firearms,” wrote staff..Mendicino yesterday did not comment on the scope of smuggling. “We can’t tolerate the status quo,” he said..“Handguns are the number one type of guns used in homicide,” said Mendicino. “It’s a type of gun that has been growing on average between 45,000 and 55,000 new registrations each and every year and we want to stop that trend. We hope by doing so we will bring down handgun violence.”.Parliamentary committees earlier heard testimony that gun smuggling into Canada was not difficult. The Customs and Immigration Union in a February 1 submission to the Commons public safety committee said there were few checks on rail cars carrying contraband..“There is almost a 0% chance that any illegal weapons entering the country via rail will ever be found,” testified Mark Weber, national union president. Weber said railways were given wide leeway to cross the border without inspection..“The latitude given to rail carriers we find is far and above anything that is given to any other kind of industry: trucking, air,” said Weber. “The Canada Border Services Agency has not forced rail carriers to provide rail inspection facilities at the first point of arrival, this despite their legal ability to do so.”.“The reality is our current operational abilities in the rail field are virtually non-existent,” he said. “Canada has almost zero examination capabilities directly at the border.”.“We don’t really have rail examination capabilities at the first port of arrival in Canada,” said Weber. “Trains that for instance used to be looked at in Fort Frances, Ontario coming into Canada now are being looked at 400 kilometres away in Winnipeg.”.“Even there we don’t really have facilities to do a full search and we usually don’t do the search anyway,” said Weber. “Many locations are not conducting any kind of cargo screening for rail.”
